Chapter 73: After the Scolding, She Still Had to Coax Her Herself

Li Yunli gazed deeply at the person in her arms, and in the end, she couldn’t hold back her laughter. Playing along with her words, she replied, “That’s right. Without abs, I won’t love Xiao Zhen. So Xiao Zhen needs to work hard and aim for a six-pack soon. Then I’ll like our Xiao Zhen even more.”

Ji Zhenshi felt like she was about to burst into tears. So Sister A-Yun was that pragmatic too.

She touched her own stomach, then decisively set aside the chips. “Then I won’t eat them. Otherwise, how could I wear crop tops in the summer?”

Li Yunli lowered her eyes and replied without a second thought, “You can’t wear crop tops.”

Ji Zhenshi gave a meaningful smile. “Sister A-Yun, you’ve sure been saying ‘no’ a lot today. Just like on New Year’s Eve—all those ‘no’s.”

But in reality, she had let her do whatever she wanted in the end.

On this trip, Ji Zhenshi was probably the happiest. She spent her days sightseeing and her nights with a beautiful companion by her side.

By contrast, Li Yunli was the most exhausted. She toured mountains and rivers by day, then had to wrangle a child at night, providing hands-on instruction.

At those words, Li Yunli’s pupils contracted. She immediately reached out and clamped a hand over Ji Zhenshi’s mouth.

Now thoroughly embarrassed and angry, she flushed red and smothered Ji Zhenshi’s face with the jacket she had tossed aside earlier.

Let her spout that nonsense!

“Mmph… Sister A-Yun, you’re going to suffocate me,” Ji Zhenshi protested.

Serves her right.

Li Yunli ignored her.

“Sister A-Yun gets embarrassed so easily. She’s clearly even more skilled than me, but she makes it seem like she’s purer than I am.” Even under duress, Ji Zhenshi stayed calm. Her mouth kept running nonstop as she continued prodding at Li Yunli.

Li Yunli couldn’t take any more of her babble. Silently, she slipped her hand under the hem of Ji Zhenshi’s shirt. A light scrape from her slender nails was all it took, and Ji Zhenshi writhed in agony like an eel.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! Sorry, Sister A-Yun! I was wrong—I won’t say anything about you again!” Ji Zhenshi nearly dropped to her knees. That awful blend of sharp pain and maddening itch was her worst nightmare, and Li Yunli had her sensitive spot pinched just right—not too hard, not too soft—tormenting her relentlessly.

Li Yunli had no intention of letting her off the hook so easily. The two of them locked in stalemate.

In the end, Ji Zhenshi lost patience and lunged forward, teeth bared.

She was already nestled in Li Yunli’s arms, so the bite landed hard. Li Yunli shuddered violently from head to toe. Shame mingled with a fierce surge of pleasure, causing her fingertips to clench suddenly and dig into Ji Zhenshi’s flesh.

Sharp teeth and a sharper tongue!

Neither backed down. Pain flared abruptly between them. Their gazes burned into each other. Li Yunli bit her lip without thinking, frowning as she ducked her head to hide her disarray behind a curtain of hair.

Luckily, Ji Zhenshi’s face was still smothered by the jacket, but Li Yunli’s shame still exploded within her. In the quiet confines of the train car, an inexplicable tenderness flowed between them.

“It feels like…” Ji Zhenshi hadn’t meant to hit the exact mark. She froze for several long seconds before slowly emerging and propping herself up.

She was done for. Truly done for this time.

Li Yunli might tolerate a little of that on the bed, but out in public, her upbringing forbade her from deriving any shameful thrill from it.

Li Yunli squeezed her eyes shut, clearly steadying her emotions.

She was on the verge of breaking down!

Why did Ji Zhenshi always have to bite there?

Ji Zhenshi wasn’t faring much better, but Li Yunli remained rigidly tense from the overwhelming mix of stimulation and mortification. The consequence of Ji Zhenshi’s actions? Li Yunli ignored her all the way from disembarking the high-speed train to arriving at the hotel.

Whenever Ji Zhenshi drew near, Li Yunli would yank her clothes tighter across her chest and eye her with wary defensiveness.

“………”

Ji Zhenshi trailed after her like a naughty child who knew she’d messed up. No matter how hard she tried to make amends along the way, she couldn’t close the ocean-wide gulf between them.

“Sister A-Yun, there’s a blessing ceremony at Fountain Square tonight. Want to go?” Having unpacked all their luggage, Ji Zhenshi poked her head around the corner and beamed at Li Yunli, who was washing up.

Her smile was as warm and bright as a spring breeze—a prime display of apologetic charm.

Li Yunli wouldn’t buy any excuse about it being a panicked fluke, but honestly, who could blame her? Ji Zhenshi hadn’t overthought it in the moment; she’d simply retaliated against Li Yunli exploiting her weak spot.

Through the mirror above the sink, Li Yunli caught sight of Ji Zhenshi’s placating grin. Her expression softened considerably. Silently, she lowered her gaze and undid her buttons. Beneath the expanse of pale skin sat a pair of clear tooth marks—faded somewhat, but still sharply outlined around the reddened peaks. It was obvious just how fiercely Ji Zhenshi had bitten.

Out in public earlier, Li Yunli hadn’t been able to inspect the damage. She’d gritted her teeth and borne it until now.

No wonder even someone as even-tempered as her had stayed mad for so long.

Li Yunli made no effort to hide it. She turned fully, giving Ji Zhenshi a clear view of her handiwork.

She hadn’t fussed over the other intimate marks, no matter how bad, simply enduring them in silence. But this time, Ji Zhenshi had shown no mercy whatsoever. The bite needed ointment.

Li Yunli leaned against the sink, one hand braced on its edge. Her shoulders quivered faintly, her shirt hanging half-open. Complex emotions swirled in her gentle eyes.

“Ah… it’s that bad?” Ji Zhenshi gasped in shock. The injury’s severity caught her off guard, stinging her eyes with sudden tears. She rushed forward to inspect it more closely.

But Li Yunli threw up a hand, halting her at arm’s length. She tugged her shirt closed without bothering to button it and simply regarded Ji Zhenshi coolly.

After a long pause, Li Yunli’s lips pressed into a serious line. “Xiao Zhen, you can’t bite me like that. It’s not the same as on the bed. It hurts terribly and can easily get infected, leading to other problems. You have to apologize—and promise you won’t fool around like that anymore. Even if you didn’t mean to, you’ve hurt me. I feel awful right now.”

Ji Zhenshi’s throat tightened. Words failed her for an instant. “I…”

She lifted a hand, aching to examine the wound herself, but Li Yunli held her at bay, delivering the lecture with utmost gravity.

Ji Zhenshi’s heart ached unbearably. She nodded sheepishly, regret churning inside her.

Gritting her teeth, she grew to hate her own biting habit.

“I’m sorry, Sister A-Yun. It was all my fault. I didn’t think about your feelings and hurt you this badly. I promise I won’t bite you ever again—I’ll break the habit. I’m sorry. I’ll go buy some ointment right now.” Her dangling hand trembled. Ji Zhenshi’s eyes brimmed red, her words tumbling out in a jumbled rush.

Li Yunli’s anger ebbed the moment the apology landed. She gazed helplessly at Ji Zhenshi’s distraught, tentative expression.

Once again, defeated by Xiao Zhen. She’d scolded her, only to find she couldn’t stay mad.

Li Yunli grasped Ji Zhenshi’s wrist and patted her shoulder. “All right, Good Child. Recognizing your mistake is enough. I’ve already ordered ointment on my phone. It’ll be here any minute.”

“I’m so sorry—I really didn’t control myself. Sister A-Yun, does it hurt a lot? I know I was wrong.” Ji Zhenshi clung to Li Yunli fiercely, holding back her tears until the other woman’s demeanor thawed.

Teardrops like little pearls rained onto Li Yunli’s shoulder. She didn’t dare sob aloud, lest Li Yunli think she was just crying to get out of trouble.

Seeing her hurt had set off Ji Zhenshi’s own tears.

Li Yunli pulled some tissues and pressed them into Ji Zhenshi’s palm. “It’s fine now that you know better. I forgive you. Don’t cry. It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, and the ointment will fix it right up.”

A true family-style lesson: stern when needed, but afterward, she still had to do the coaxing herself.

“I let you down…” Ji Zhenshi’s mouth opened on yet another apology as she gently lifted the edge of Li Yunli’s shirt.

Realizing it was her doing made the heartache all too real.

“……”

Li Yunli listened to the confession, her brow furrowing faintly.

Why did that line sound so off?

It was the sort of opener that always heralded tales of betrayal.

“Xiao Zhen, you make it impossible for me to stay mad.” Li Yunli let her look her fill, unconcerned about her half-bared chest. She just kept wiping away Ji Zhenshi’s tears.

Good Child, you truly make anger impossible.

Ji Zhenshi had owned up to her mistake so swiftly that Li Yunli hadn’t even had time to finish scolding.

She’d steeled herself to deliver a proper lecture, only to melt at the sight of that guilt-stricken face.

Fine. Let Xiao Zhen have her way. She did have a good sense of limits, after all.

That was how Li Yunli was—utterly indulgent with Ji Zhenshi for life. Her heart brimmed with her, her gaze fixed on nothing but Xiao Zhen. She longed to cradle the world in her hands and offer it up.

Her light. Her salvation. The brave Xiao Zhen who had pulled her from the depths of despair.

Ji Zhenshi raised three fingers solemnly, then swore to the heavens. “It was my fault. I swear I won’t do it again. If I ever bite you in the future, let lightning strike me down.”

Li Yunli tugged her hand down, feigning sternness. “No swearing like that. I don’t need vows like that from you. I just want you to mind your limits and not go overboard. It makes me uncomfortable.”

She actually found their playful tussles rather enjoyable.

This time had simply gone too far, prompting the reprimand.

“Okay.” Still wracked with guilt, Ji Zhenshi bent down and puffed gentle breaths of warm air over the spot.

Faint wisps of heat danced across Li Yunli’s chest. She shivered involuntarily. The mirror captured their poses perfectly.

No matter the angle, it looked utterly peculiar.

“Enough. Go fetch the ointment and bring it in. I’ll apply it myself.” Li Yunli yanked her clothes shut, as if desperate to cover it up, then shooed Ji Zhenshi away.

Xiao Zhen was a menace—blush-inducing when improper, overly earnest when sincere.

Take right now: Li Yunli had no wish for her to handle the ointment, but Ji Zhenshi insisted on doing it personally.

As though tending to her would ease her own remorse.

But Li Yunli harbored no grudge anymore. And that placement… Being watched by Xiao Zhen sent her temperature soaring inexplicably, her face engulfed in waves of heat.

“I can do it myself.”

“I want to help you.”

“Out.”

“No way.”

The standoff dragged on, and applying the ointment took ages of fussing before they managed it.

In the end, Li Yunli slumped against the door, cheeks aflame. Her legs buckled as she stepped away from the sink, and she stared up at the ceiling, questioning her life choices.

She recalled intending a solemn family lesson for Ji Zhenshi. Instead, she was the one swept away, half-resisting until it blossomed into perfect bliss.

No more. Back home, she needed physical distance from Ji Zhenshi.

Her body didn’t reset itself each morning like Ji Zhenshi’s did. The lingering aftershocks took ages to fade.

At least she’d reaped a small perk. Concerned for her fatigue, Ji Zhenshi wanted to skip the blessing event. But Li Yunli refused to waste the trip, so guilt-driven Ji Zhenshi hoisted her onto her back and carried her downstairs.

“Sister A-Yun, should I carry you all the way like this?”

Carried like this, they’d make it down somehow.

Li Yunli blinked in confusion. “Hm?”

Ji Zhenshi let out a dopey chuckle. “Nothing.”

By the time they reached Fountain Square, the blessing ceremony was well underway. A sea of people crowded the area—mostly locals from ethnic minorities decked out in vibrant traditional garb, singing and dancing up a storm in high spirits.

Ji Zhenshi and Li Yunli made their way over together. With so many activities on offer, and having missed the key ones, they picked and chose what appealed to them.

They found a little vendor beneath the Wishing Tree, where participants could scribble wishes onto red blessing ribbons and tie them to the branches.

The tree was already festooned with fluttering ribbons.

Ji Zhenshi stood beneath it, admiring the bells dangling overhead that chimed merrily in the breeze.

“This tree feels like it would take more than ten people to circle it,” she marveled, craning her neck.

“Last year, eleven strapping young folks barely managed to surround it,” came a familiar voice from two meters away. The tone was as flat and inflectionless as ever. She didn’t even glance at Ji Zhenshi, her eyes fixed upward on the wish-laden branches.

An ancient tree like this had to be powerfully efficacious, didn’t it?

Ji Zhenshi and Li Yunli whipped around in unison, equally stunned. There, predictably, stood the most improbable person imaginable.

“Teacher Tang? What are you doing here?”

Talk about coincidence.

Shouldn’t Tang Xien be holed up alone in her sprawling villa? Yet here she was, joining the New Year’s revelry.

Word had it Tang Xien worked straight through New Year’s Eve. Sure, she might travel, but running into her here? Eerily serendipitous.

Was the world really just three rooms and a hallway big? Travel anywhere, and you’d bump into someone you knew.

Tang Xien inclined her head politely to Li Yunli by way of greeting. Toward Ji Zhenshi, though, her expression cooled markedly as she lifted her chin a fraction. “I flew in. Got a problem with that?”

What odd questions. As if she’d trek all this way just to stage a ‘chance’ encounter.

Ji Zhenshi faltered. “N-no… Just surprised to see you here. Running into someone familiar in an unfamiliar place is always a nice shock.”

Now it clicked: Tang Xien had recommended this spot, so she must have visited before and known the lay of the land.

She looked like she’d been posted there awhile, gazing at the starlit trinkets on the Wishing Tree with churning undercurrents in her eyes. When her gaze shifted to Ji Zhenshi, it went abruptly still. “I didn’t expect the coincidence either. I figured northern skiing meant you wouldn’t come here. Miss Li, seems you’re enjoying a fine New Year? I caught Ji Zhenshi’s Moments—the fireworks were stunning. I might visit sometime.”

Li Yunli stepped up beside Ji Zhenshi and dipped her head graciously. “It’s been good. First time spending the New Year traveling like this. The experience has been positive so far.”

“Yeah, New Year’s doesn’t require cramming everyone together by force. Just a few close friends sharing a meal and chat feels great,” Ji Zhenshi chimed in.

For them, family “reunions” in stifling settings rang hollow with tradition but brought no joy.

Even the two of them alone, idle as could be, filled them with bliss.

Tang Xien offered no rebuttal. “True enough.”

For those with strained family bonds, dodging the drama might be the surest path to a happy holiday—for everyone.

“Pity we showed up late. The event’s winding down; we missed the dances,” Ji Zhenshi said, hopping onto the Wishing Tree’s platform for a better view of the bustling square.

Songs soared, laughter rang out—pure exuberance.

Tang Xien gave a faint smile. “I’ve watched from start to finish. The activities repeat tomorrow. Come back then.”

She didn’t seem invested in the festivities, yet she’d stayed for the whole show.

Ji Zhenshi shook her head, abandoning any attempt to puzzle out Tang Xien’s motives.

Their minds worked differently, it seemed. She pulled baffling stunts now and then, but they made a strange sort of sense within her unique framework.

“Oh, is this tree supposed to grant wishes super reliably?” Ji Zhenshi asked offhand.